How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State

Stretching your nest egg as far as possible is something that’s most likely front of mind for most retirees who aren’t very wealthy. With no new sources of income aside from Social Security or possibly a pension, it’s important to find a place to retire that won’t drain your savings.

However, getting a clear sense of exactly how long your retirement savings will last requires understanding how much it costs to live in the state you’re calling home. As anyone trying to get by in somewhere with a high cost of living can attest, even basic necessities can quickly start to winnow down your retirement account. And it only gets more complicated if you decide you don’t want to spend your entire retirement in the same place, as your costs won’t be consistent throughout your retirement.

That’s why GOBankingRates performed a study to compare the cost of living in every state and determine how long you can survive off of $100,000. Granted, $100,000 won’t buy you a lot of time in any state. But, these results will give you a sense of just how much you need to save.

To say that Hawaii is the most expensive state to live in is something of an understatement: Hawaiians pay over $20,000 more per year than the second-most expensive state, California. You’ll need over $2 million to survive retirement in this state, the most in the country.

Some might gripe that the only thing imperial about the Empire State is how much it costs to live there, with the average New Yorker needing more than $60,000 a year to cover expenses. And that’s for the state as a whole, New York City can be even worse, ranking as the worst city to stretch $1 million in retirement.

47. Alaska

Annual Expenditure: $59,895
$100,000 Will Last: 1 year, 8 months

Costs in Alaska are generally high — particularly for healthcare and utilities — but there’s one area where the state won’t eat so far into your nest egg: Alaska is the most tax-friendly state for retirees.

Maryland is one of the more expensive states for retirees to live in, but a lot of the state’s older residents can afford it: It’s one of the states with the richest retirees.

45. Oregon

Annual Expenditure: $59,483
$100,000 Will Last: 1 years, 8 months

Oregon has a cost of living that’s 30 percent higher than the country as a whole. However, if you’re dead set on enjoying the beautiful coastlines of the Pacific Northwest in your Golden Years, consider making your home in Brandon. It’s the best city in the state to buy a home.

Massachusetts is not a state that’s kind to your retirement savings with sky-high housing costs playing the biggest part in making things difficult. It’s also the state where a comfortable retirement costs the most at about $65,000 a year.

Not only is Connecticut one of the pricier states in the country to live in, but for many retirees, the source of their income might not be as stable as they would hope. Connecticut is the worst state for pensions in the U.S.

Like many of the most expensive states in the country, the main culprit for New Jersey’s high cost of living is housing, with New Jersey residents paying almost 50 percent more than the average American for a place to live.

Not only is Vermont a tough place to maintain your nest egg, it’s also a pretty rough spot for building it up as well. The Green Mountain State is the state where it’s hardest to save $1 million for retirement, found another GOBankingRates study.

It’s possible that the high cost of living in Maine has some residents thinking big in terms of what it means to be wealthy. In a GOBankingRates survey, the most common answer for what it meant to be “rich” was an income of $10 million a year or more, the highest answer for any state.

If you’re dead set on living in New Hampshire in retirement but you’re looking to avoid some of those high costs, steer well clear of the 03854 zip code — home to New Castle Island. It’s the most expensive zip code in the state.

If you want to spend your golden years in the Silver State, prepare to spend a little more. Costs are at least 10 percent higher than the national average across every category except for utilities, where they’re actually 20 percent under what the rest of America pays.

36. Washington

Annual Expenditure: $49,554
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years, 5 days

If you’re surprised to see Washington so far down this list, keep in mind that it’s home to Seattle, one of the most expensive cities in the country. In terms of which city you need the most to live comfortably in, Seattle’s nearly $90,000 a year outpaces everywhere but the usual suspects in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Washington, D.C.

35. Delaware

Annual Expenditure: $48,227
$100,000 Will Last: 2 years, 25 days

Although Delaware might be on the higher side for costs, it can also offer some great ways to protect your nest egg: It’s one of the best states to retire rich in the country.

The cost to live comfortably in Denver is over $77,000 a year, making it one of the most expensive cities in the country. However, if you want to stay in the Rocky Mountain State but don’t like the “mile high” costs in Denver, consider Colorado Springs where it’s over $10,000 a year cheaper.

If you were hoping to keep your nest egg healthy after retiring to Montana by investing well, you might find it harder there than elsewhere. Montana is one of the worst states to grow your money, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

You’ll pay less for groceries, utilities and transportation than the average American if you opt to retire to Virginia, but there’s clearly more to the story. That would be the cost of housing, which is over 10 percent higher than the national average.

Pennsylvania is the first state on this list where housing costs are actually below average when compared to the country as a whole. However, if you’re looking to stretch your retirement savings as far as possible, you can still do better, especially when Pennsylvanians pay more than average for groceries, utilities and transportation.

There’s one thing you don’t have to worry about in South Dakota: state income tax. That’s because it’s one of the seven states without any, which could make a significant difference in how long you can stretch that nest egg.

No state is closer to the average cost of living than Minnesota, where costs are just 0.2 percent higher than the country as a whole. That’s not true statewide, though, as Minneapolis is among the more expensive major cities in the country. The cost to live comfortably there is $77,512 a year.

One place you probably won’t overspend in North Dakota is on housing. Even if the state’s most expensive ZIP code — the 58503 ZIP north of Bismarck — has a median home price of $339,600, that’s still less than half of what it is for Hawaii.

Florida might only be middle-of-the-pack for stretching a six-figure retirement fund, but it’s still a popular destination for many retirees. And you have plenty of options to choose from in terms of which Florida city stacks up the best for you.

The question of how long $100,000 lasts in retirement might be especially apt for South Carolina. A GOBankingRates survey found that the most common answer to “how much do you have saved for retirement” in the Palmetto State was $50,000-$100,000.

Illinois is the first state on the better half of this survey, with the average retiree being able to squeeze a full three months out of the third year on that initial $100,000. And if you decide you want to make the Windy City your home, you’ll have plenty of options in selecting from the many different suburbs around the city.

You can make $100,000 last over two years in retirement if you’re living in the Badger State. However, if you’re thinking you’ll just need to earn $100,000 in that last year before you hang it up, you should know that you only take home $67,124 from a $100,000 salary after taxes in Wisconsin.

If you’re looking for a place to live in retirement where you’re not in the hustle and bustle of the city but also still close enough to take advantage of city living on occasion, North Carolina might be the place to look. Three of the best suburbs for retirement are in the Tarheel State: Bermuda Run, Fairfield Harbour and Sunset Beach.

Nebraska’s cost of living scores are either at or below the national average in every category except for transportation. However, at least some of the money you can save on things like groceries and housing will end up with the state government: Nebraska is the least tax-friendly state for retirees.

If you enjoy life in the big city but can’t handle the high cost of living that usually comes with it, New Mexico might offer you the best compromise. You only need to make $53,384 a year to live comfortably in Albuquerque, one of the lowest figures among the 50 largest U.S. cities.

Housing is especially affordable in Ohio, coming in at almost 25 percent less than what the average American is paying. Add that to costs that are either below average or less than 2 percent over it, and it’s not hard to see why Ohio cracked the top 20 in this study.

Idaho’s scenic landscape could be considered incentive enough to retire there, but the state’s low costs are an additional perk, allowing you to last into the fifth month of your third year on $100,000.

Kentucky’s biggest cost advantage over other states is in its housing, where you’ll pay almost 20 percent less than the national average. With a median home price of just $136,600, the cost of a home in this state is one many Americans can actually afford.

Like many states in the Midwest, Iowa boasts low housing costs that help push the overall cost of living down significantly. However, while it’s housing leading the charge, Iowa’s costs are below what the average American pays across the board.

That Indiana offers retirees the chance to stretch their savings much further than most of the country is important to the Hoosier State as Indiana is the state with the poorest retirees in the country.

The cost of living in Wyoming is lower than it is for the country as a whole, but the high cost of healthcare for seniors could quickly erase much of that benefit. Employing either homemaker services or a home health aide will run you about $5,000 a year.

Texas offers a range of advantages to its elderly residents when it comes to stretching retirement dollars. In fact, eight of the 30 best cities to retire on a budget of $1,000 a month or less are in the Lone Star State.

Low costs in Georgia mean a retiree can make $100,000 last them for almost two years and five months. Even if you’re living well by saving on basic costs, though, not everyone is in the same situation: Atlanta is among the places in the U.S. with the most income inequality.

Kansas is a great state to retire to if you want to stretch your nest egg as far as possible, and it’s even better if you’re living off of a pension funded by the state: Kansas is one of the best states for pensions.

Whether it’s the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville or Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee is a great state for American music. Of course, if you’re retired and living there, it’s the low costs that might be music to your ears.

Although most costs are lower in Missouri, the Show Me State is especially affordable when it comes to housing. A year of a roof over your head costs an average of just $11,597, making it one of just five states where you can expect to pay under $12,000 per annum.

You can expect to stretch your retirement savings by retiring almost anywhere in the Yellow Hammer State, but that’s especially true if you decide to call the city of Birmingham home: It’s one of the cheapest places to retire in the entire country.

Oklahoma has low costs state-wide that will help you stretch $100,000 to almost a full two and a half years. And unlike many states, that extends to the state’s largest city as well: $1 million will last you 24 and a half years in retirement in Oklahoma City, making it one of the most affordable U.S. cities for retirees.

No state has a lower cost for a comfortable retirement than Mississippi, where you can expect to pay almost a third less for housing than the country as a whole. All told, the cumulative cost of living in Mississippi is 16 percent lower than the national average.

How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State

States on either coast might offer a lot in terms of great weather and loads of culture, but they certainly ask a lot in terms of your pocketbook. The 15 states where $100,000 stretches the least in retirement include all five states on the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska). On the East Coast, the worst states for your retirement nest egg are New York, Maryland, New Jersey and all six of the states that make up New England.

On the other end of the list, it’s hard to miss that states from the South and the Midwest have the lowest costs by far. Of the 15 states where your $100,000 in retirement savings goes the furthest, all but two (Idaho and Wyoming) are in one of those two regions.

Click through to see how much it’ll cost to retire in America’s warmest cities.

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Methodology: In order to determine how long $100,000 will last the average retiree in each state, GOBankingRates found the average total expenditures for people 65 and older, which includes groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and healthcare. Then, we multiplied that by the cost of living index in each state to find the average annual expenditure cost for each state. Once the annual cost was found, it was divided by $100,000 and then converted into years, months and days in order to show how much average annual expenditures for people 65 and older would last in every state.

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